Apr 3, 2007 -
A Toronto school principal who pleaded guilty to throwing human excrement at a 12-year-old boy may get her job back, officials said on Tuesday.She was granted an absolute discharge on assault charges Monday after a judge said she "had already suffered enough," according to court documents.
"It's quite possible she'll end up back in her old position," said Grant Bowers, a lawyer for the Toronto District School Board.
TT- In his ruling, the judge said Pantalone was "publicly embarrassed, if not humiliated. She has suffered more than most." The Crown attorney agreed to the outcome because Pantalone is a first-time offender and the incident was "a serious misjudgment" and not in keeping with her character.
The original charges were that she assaulted two boys who were not students. The Toronto Star added that, "Dr. Leonard Feldman, a psychiatrist who has seen Pantalone for eight sessions, said he has not found she has "any intrinsic psychiatric difficulties." The Globe and Mail explained that he had been treating her since last August.
The bottom line is that "very few" -- read: no, zero, zilch -- details have been released on what happened. "The circumstances of the assault cannot be described due to a court publication ban designed to protect the identity of the victim. The judge in the case, however, said they were unique." We have to take his word for it.
Oh, did I mention that Maria Pantalone is a sister of Toronto's deputy mayor?
